ส.อ.ท. ร่วมเสวนา พลังงานราคาถูก ทางรอดเศรษฐกิจไทยFTI Participates in Seminar on Affordable Energy as a Solution for the Thai Economy

On Wednesday, November 6, 2024, Mr. Isares Rattanadilok na Phuket, Vice Chairman and Registrar of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), had the honor of being a speaker at a seminar entitled 'Affordable Energy as a Solution for the Thai Economy,' alongside Mr. Sarath Prakobchat, Deputy Director of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, Ministry of Energy; Dr. Kurujit Nakornthap, Director of the Petroleum and Energy Institute of Thailand; Dr. Ariporn Asavinvongpan, Scholar at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI); and Mr. Wuttikorn Stithit, Chief Operating Officer of the Exploration and Production Business Group, PTT Public Company Limited. The event was organized by the Base Economic News Agency, Nation Group, at Thai Chitlada Room, Bangkok Marriott Marquis Queen’s Park, Bangkok.

During the seminar, Mr. Isares presented on the topic 'Surviving Thailand's Energy Transition,' discussing the challenges of the National Energy Plan (NEP) in maintaining the competitive capacity of the industrial sector. He introduced five main plans that constitute the NEP as follows:
1) The Power Development Plan (PDP) focuses on increasing the share of electricity production from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), restructuring electricity tariffs, and reviewing Supply over Demand conditions, which means a situation where supply exceeds demand. This includes comparing the concepts of Repowering or Overhauling existing power plants instead of building new ones, and expediting the implementation of the Third Party Access (TPA) system for licensees or other electricity operators wishing to use services or connect to the electricity network, with a clear timeline and KPI defined in PDP 2024, including the request for the return of electricity usage guarantees to help enhance economic liquidity.
2) The Alternative Energy Development Plan (AEDP) aims to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) to its full potential, such as solar energy and wind energy, along with Energy Storage Systems, and to study the feasibility of utilizing clean energy technologies for electricity production, such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR) / Micro Modular Reactors (MMR), and promote the use of hydrogen in transportation or industrial production, which will help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
3) The Energy Efficiency Plan (EEP) supports the government in pushing for energy conservation and increasing energy efficiency across all sectors, particularly SMEs, through funding to promote energy conservation that has an allocated annual budget for continuous implementation. 
4) The Oil Plan should support B10, E20, and liberalize ethanol to develop into the bio-chemical industry under the BCG Model, promoting the agricultural industry and reducing dependence on imported energy to replace the consumption of gasoline, which costs 24 billion Baht annually and will help generate income for 1.2 million households of sugarcane and cassava farmers. 
5) The Gas Plan promotes the negotiation of the Thailand-Cambodia overlapping area (OCA) by presenting the OCA approach that the government should consider implementing, moving forward according to MOU 44, and accelerating negotiations to develop benefits based on the principles of the Joint Development Area (JDA) between Thailand and Malaysia in a transparent manner, including the establishment of a Thai negotiation team acknowledged by all parties, both OCA and JDA teams, as well as a communication platform to foster understanding among all parties.

Furthermore, the FTI also proposed the establishment of the Energy Policy Committee (GRO) to provide recommendations to the Energy Policy Administration Committee (EPAC) for presentation to the National Energy Policy Committee (NEPC), allowing the private sector to suggest policies, plans for energy management and development measures of the country, and enabling the private sector to reflect the realities and provide feedback to the government for the benefit of all sectors and to participate in resolving energy issues.